Homicide suspect claims he didn't intend to kill wife

PEORIA — The man who shot himself after a nine-hour standoff with police Tuesday claimed he had not intended to kill his estranged wife when he abducted her Monday morning.

Instead, Phouvone Sophanavong — whose condition improved Wednesday and appears likely to survive — said he intended to kill himself in front of his wife after kidnapping her from the parking lot of the parts packaging facility where she worked in Pekin, but shot her after she produced a stun gun to defend herself.

According to a variety of sources familiar with the investigation, that stun gun remained in Laongdao Phangthong's black 2011 Toyota Corolla on Tuesday morning when a passerby noticed the vehicle on level 1C of the north parking deck at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center.

Phangthong recently had received an order of protection against her estranged husband. In her petition for the order, she claimed he had been threatening to kill her and himself if she did not move back in with him.

The car with the 28-year-old's body reclining in the passenger seat, a piece of black clothing draped over her face and body, sat in the lot for more than six hours by the time it was recognized a little after 11 a.m.

An autopsy performed Wednesday revealed Phangthong died from two close-range gunshots to the chest, according to Peoria County Coroner Johnna Ingersoll. The autopsy also showed she had been dead for several hours, though a more precise time of death has not been determined.

Authorities believe the slaying transpired soon after the abduction at 5:30 a.m. Monday, and Sophanavong appears to have initially headed south from Pekin, possibly into Mason and Cass counties, rather than back to Peoria, where he and his wife lived in separate homes.

Pekin police said Wednesday that Sophanavong was in their custody at the Peoria hospital recuperating from his self-inflicted wound. A statement from the department indicated he would be arrested for kidnapping and violating an order of protection once he was released. Additional charges could follow.

Sophanavong's condition at St. Francis improved Wednesday, going from critical in the morning to serious by later that night.

The home where he shot himself had come to the attention of police within hours of the abduction Monday but became the centerpiece of the incident the next day. Authorities executed a search warrant at Sophanavong's family home at 703 NE Monroe St. but found nothing Monday night. By late Tuesday morning, he had returned and was inside as police mounted a major operation to bring him out.

Uniformed and plainclothes officers arrived within minutes of the vehicle being identified and soon called in the Special Response Team, headed by Lt. Steve Roegge, who on Wednesday called the operation one that places the highest priority on protecting the lives of all involved, including suspects.

"Statistically, most of the time when the team gets involved, it usually ends successfully because of all the training they have," Roegge said. "The main goal of our teams is to get the situation resolved and get everyone out safely, no matter who they are."

As with the operation Tuesday, Roegge said the SRT initially works to organize a diverse group of officers at the scene — patrolmen, detectives, tactical officers, marksmen, negotiators and medical personnel — to secure the area and approach it methodically.

"You have a lot of components that come together," he said. "It's a large contingent of officers."

Medical personnel who train with the team also are on hand — and may have proved key to the operation Tuesday. Within minutes of Sophanavong shooting himself in the basement of his home, he was receiving medical treatment and was rushed to St. Francis.

"An armed barricade where there's not potential for injuries to hostages, you're able to slow down the situation," Roegge said. "The suspect dictates what's going on, and sometimes they choose not to come out."

He added: "Our main goal of any operation is to get all people out safely."

Matt Buedel can be reached at 686-3154 or mbuedel@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @JournoBuedel.